Five debut authors. Five books. One big dance toward publication.

book giveaway

I am absolutely thrilled to welcome our fellow debut author Kristin Wright to the debutante ball this week. Her southern gothic suspense Lying Beneath The Oaks was recently released in January, and I know I’m not the only one who’d been looking forward to that for many months! Kristin is a native Midwesterner and a graduate of Michigan State University and the University of Michigan Law School. She works…

This week, we’re speaking with Stephanie Elliot, the author of young adult novel SAD PERFECT (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). SAD PERFECT tells the story of sixteen year old Pea, who struggles with a little known eating disorder known as Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). The novel was in part inspired by Elliot’s daughter’s real-life experience with the disorder. Called “a well-written page-turner whose sensitive topic is covered with finesse and grace”…

Please welcome Ivelisse Rodriguez to the Ball this week! Ivelisse’s debut short story collection, Love War Stories, came out this July to much acclaim, and was named one of the most anticipated books of 2018 by Cosmopolitan, The Root, and Bitch Media. Bustle called it an “exceptional debut” and as soon as I read the description of the book (and saw it was published by Feminist Press, one of my favorite small presses!),…

Awhile back, I did an interview in which I mentioned how much I loved the book Bridget Jones by Helen Fielding. A short time later I received a package in the mail containing a copy of a historical fiction title called Dear Mrs. Bird, written by a debut British author named AJ Pearce. The publisher mentioned that despite this book being WWII-era historical fiction, the protagonist and the voice of…

Emily Giffin is the gold standard when it comes to women’s fiction. Her success surges past a writer’s wildest dreams into the realm of the fantastical, encompassing everything from multiple New York Times bestsellers to movie deals to dozens of translations around the world. I think it’s fair to say she’s struck a chord with her readers; in fact, during a recent event in my city, the woman sitting next…

Two friends. Ten clues. One breathtaking secret. I am so honored to be able to introduce the incredible book The Summer List—releasing June 26— to our readers! I was lucky enough to score an early copy and tore through it this winter, but whoever wins this week’s drawing is golden: this is the perfect book to enjoy lakeside or poolside or seaside with a cool drink in your hand and…

This summer, I was lucky enough to attend BookExpo, the big trade show in New York where the year’s brightest literary stars are introduced. In a sea of articulate, fascinating speakers at the conference, one stood out to me: Christopher Meades. His book, Hanna Who Fell from the Sky, sounded like one I’d want to read under any circumstances but after hearing his story, I was desperate to get…

I first met Dr. Laurie Jean Cannady at HippoCamp—Hippocampus Magazine’s 2016 writer’s conference. I have to admit that I was so awestruck to meet her in person that I didn’t talk to her for more than 96 seconds. Writers are my rockstars, and I’m easily intimidated. It’s not that she was that terror-inducing as a person, it’s just that I loved her book, CRAVE: SOJOURN OF A HUNGRY SOUL so…

Congratulations to Jennifer and Kelley, winners of our #DebBallGiveaway of THE SALT LINE by Holly Goddard Jones. Thank you so much to yesterday’s guest, Jenny D. Williams! If you haven’t already, enter the #DebBallGiveaway to win a copy of The Atlas of Forgotten Places. You can enter by sharing our post on Facebook and/or retweeting the following tweet: [Guest Post] @jclarkab introduces you to the amazing Jenny D. Williams, author of THE ATLAS… https://t.co/KqERS3TwNV pic.twitter.com/ffmUTlzPGQ —…

For this post about people without whom The Queen of Hearts would not exist, I decided to go rogue in order to list a few unexpected influencers: a cranky genius, a maligned but immensely successful author of erotica, a fictional six-year-old, a group of 70,000 over-sharers, and, uh, me. To the usual suspects in a thank-you list (my agent, my editor, my beta readers, my writing groups, and my long-suffering…